Why You Need To Commit To Being A Better Firm

In the disruptive digital age that’s being defined by job loss stemming from automation, many hard-working employees are finding it more and more challenging to commit themselves to their firms. Entire businesses are going under because of a failure to rally around the flag and push to be a better, more widely-respected firm, and accountants who want to avoid a similar fate need to make a change of pace.

Here are some of the reasons it’s so important that you commit to being a better firm, and how accountants can bolster their image in the public’s eye.

Bettering the firm

For far too many young professionals today, bettering the firm has taken a backseat to bettering themselves. Many aspiring accountants and other financial professionals intent on making a name for themselves think that they need to do whatever’s necessary to get ahead, and in the process are forgetting that constantly working towards creating a better firm to work for is the best way to advance your own career prospects. Getting everybody onboard to work as a team and move the firm in a positive direction is thus an essential step in any firm’s race to adapt to the 21st century marketplace.

There’s no disputing it – today’s accountants are overworked and stressed out. At least 32 percent of accountants reported feeling stressed in their day-to-day operations, and many firms are facing intense pressures to constantly “innovate” and “disrupt” if they want to remain relevant. If accountants are hoping to take a deep breath and foster a more manageable workplace culture, they should start striving towards improving their own firms.

That’s because a hard dedication to one’s own firm simultaneously guides financial professionals by offering them a goal – the betterment of the firm – and a means to achieve that goal – cooperative teamwork. Forming partnerships within your firm to help workers cooperate in their efforts to create a more effective and welcoming firm is an essential part of success. Accountants who are looking to commit themselves to their firms should thus consider embracing a mentorship program that will help employees connect and learn from one another.

Ultimately, you’ll only be able to bolster your firm’s image and create a truly better working environment if the people at the top buy into the changes you’re pushing. That’s why it’s vital that managers and senior partners at accounting firms leave their doors open so that they can constantly be reached with new ideas, and why transparent workplace cultures that empower everyone are vital.

Transparent firms are the way of the future

If accounting firms want to avoid shutting their doors thanks to rapid technological change or mere competition in the free market, they need to embrace transparency with gusto. Punishment should be equal for high and low employees alike, and all workers should have plenty of opportunities to make their voices heard. A failure to foster transparency in your firm is a great way to have employees feel like they don’t matter, and thus have them packing for a new job in no time.

Committing to being a better firm and emphasizing transparency is especially important for firms that have made a mistake and are currently grappling with a PR crisis. A failure to foster meaningful change after an embarrassing public fiasco has hurt your brand is an excellent way to turn the public off from your business forever. Realizing that you need to commit to being a better firm and actually doing it are easier said than done, however.

If accountants are truthfully interested in enacting meaningful change, they should prepare to face some serious headwinds. That’s because there will always be structural barriers to change in any firm. There’s perhaps no better way to get practice implementing sweeping reforms and changing how your firm does business than by embracing a new technology, however, which will enable you to optimize your operations while also getting comfortable with disruption. Learn about how you can implement changes around the office when it comes to adjusting the technological status quo if you’re uncertain of where to begin when it comes to pushing for reform.

If accountants and business professionals aren’t prepared to reshape their firms into savvier and more respectable versions of themselves, they shouldn’t expect to go far in the market. Today’s business world is harsh on anyone who isn’t constantly changing themselves for the better, and major firms are no exception to the norm. Unless all of the employees at your firm commit to bettering themselves and refreshing the image and day-to-day operations of your firm, you shouldn’t expect progress to be made. With the right kind of energy and momentum behind you, however, you can commit to being a better firm to wondrous results.

Cost accountant with major focus in SAP/General Fund Enterprise Business System (GFEBS). Also, main functional inspector for accounting/finance audits for internal reviews as well as the Statement of Budgetary Resources audit initiative.